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It is never personal, you're not the protagonist

It's so easy to become offended. It actually comes pretty natural. Someone says something.  You feel it's directed at you Strong reaction follows No need to react, it's got nothing to do with you as a person Imagine some remarks about academic work versus manual one, a bit dismissive about the latter. You don't have a degree and never wanted one. You know very well it takes years of experience and training to do what you're doing. Talent is involved too, as some people do have "two left hands".  You still feel you should add something to the conversation, but not sure if it is going to be well-received. No need to enlighten the other party right now Most people think in terms of opposites. If it's not this, it's that and it can't be anything else. Certainty of one's convictions is also a form of self-reassurance that everything is stable in one's world. Other points of view cannot be allowed because they are disruptive. Cognitive disrup
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Zoon Politikon is not political


 Did you know which are the top blogging topics? 

I did not, until I looked them up, using the predictable search engines available to Internet tribes. The results were quite interesting.

"How to.." and "Self-development" take the lion's share of the blogosphere, which is itself expanding at dizzying speed.

Is everyone after some form of competence and also keen of becoming a better version of oneself? It seems so, but why? The ancients have the answer, nothing surprising here.

Aristotle's view of man as "Zoon Politikon", for instance.

Often quoted and rarely used correctly,  these two words do not refer to man as a 'political animal",  such as someone who is totally enamoured of politics as understood in today's parlance.

Zoon is a living creature and "politikon" comes from polis, which means city, the complex social structure where people live and do things together. 

Man is a social creature, who needs to be part of a group. What better way to gain acceptance into such a group than proving one's value through skills and a certain behaviour? Learn how to do something really well and follow the path to an improved self, that is the secret key.

Even blogs that teach the difference between loneliness, aloneness and solitude do not promote a hermit's life. The argument that after all, being alone is not so bad, sounds a bit precarious.  

Could it be the voice of Zoon Politikon, rising from the depths of philosophical and abstract thinking? I bet it is.

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